Rapid detection of Liberobacter asiaticum in citrus by PCR amplification of 16S rDNA and ribosomal protein

摘要

Hunglongbing (HLB, greening disease) is a destructive disease of citrus both in Southern China and Asia. The causal agent of HLB is an uncultured, phloem-limited bacterium (Liberobacter asiaticum). HLB can be transmitted through grafting and infectious seedling of citrus in long distance. Routine diagnosis of HLB in plantation based on symptoms alone is quite difficult due to its complicated symptom expression. Application of PCR assay using specific primer of 16S rDNA gene of liberobacter had been conducted for detecting the HLB pathogen from suspicious samples of citrus in order to increase accuracy of HLB diagnosis in field and to implement integrated HLB management strategy in citrus plantation.